Peanut butter and jelly, yin and yang, Jack Bauer and torture scenes – some things are just meant to exist together. When it comes to hawking gelatin desserts, particularly fruit gels, puddings, and cream pies (really tried not to laugh while typing that) – nobody holds a candle to veteran comedian Bill Cosby: the man who put the jiggle in Jell-O. The actor who so brilliantly portrayed Heathcliff Huxtable on ’80s television sensation The Cosby Show is flexing his promotional chops again and letting the whole world know that “There’s always room for Jell-O.”
Cosby and Jell-O owner, Kraft Foods, were partners in slime for nearly 30 years as Bill pumped pudding, gelatin, pops, and jigglers for America’s youth to enjoy. Although the Cos hasn’t appeared in a Jell-O commercial since 1999, he has been welcomed back into the fold with open arms. The 72-year-old funny man could barely contain his excitement when discussing his reunion with the Jell-O brand.
“Reunited with strawberry, raspberry and blueberry, I am berry, berry, happy to be back working with JELL-O,” Cosby said in the company press release. “Still today, people come up to me and ask me about JELL-O pudding and gelatin, and as the great comedian Jack Benny said, ‘JELL-O Again!'”
Bill is spearheading the new campaign not as an actor, but as the man behind the camera for the Hello JELL-O movement. Cosby will participate in a 22-city search tour for “the country’s best giggle,” which will be the subject of the new TV ads. Jell-O will also be the presenting sponsor for a new weekly Web series called “OBKB,” which will consists of ten-minute episodes aired on Cosby’s own Ustream channel. The new series debuts Monday (May 31) and will feature Cosby interviewing small children for laughs, something he has experienced monumental great success in the past with Kids Say the Darndest Things.
Jell-O’s multimillion-dollar campaign is its biggest ever and a clear show of faith in Cosby. The franchise is also updating its logo with a smiling, new face that will appear on print, online and in TV ads that show people disrupting everyday activities such as work with cups of Jell-O.
I for one am psyched to see Cosby back in the spotlight and anticipate that Jell-O will once again carve out a spot in refrigerators everywhere thanks to this comic’s mass appeal.
